Switching Stances
by albert12
Summary: Chat Noir has always seemed weaker than Ladybug. Perhaps it is some deep flaw of temperament or nature, or could it be as simple as how he holds that staff?


**Author's Note:** Ok, I bumped into Miraculous Ladybug about five months ago, when there were only a handful of episodes translated to English. Now that I've watched all of the first season- the obsession hasn't abated in the least. Hence, this story (in spite of the fact I'm supposed to be writing on my own superhero stories!) Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

It's no real secret that most of the time, Chat Noir uses his magical staff-weapon-thing as a simple Bo staff.

Adrian is continually amazed that he manages to wield the weapon with such skill- after all, he has never used any similar weapon at any point. Plagg explains that it's part of the transformation- even as his body gains magically enhanced speed, strength, and agility, his brain stem gains the magically remembered reflexes of all the Chat Noirs before him.

The sad thing, though, is that he's not really that great with the staff. Plagg notes that, while magical memory is a good thing, it helps if any of the previous wielders actually bothered to learn how to properly use a weapon.

The Kwarmi also notes, almost forgettably, that some of the other miraculous users used the staff with wildly different styles. Adrian quite forgets this- until that summer.

Summer vacation brings warm weather, tourists, vacations, adventures- and lots more opportunities for someone to get akumitised. It also gives a certain black-leather-clad kitty a sunburn over ninety percent of his body, which leaves Ladybug to deal with two Akuma by herself.

Sadly, Hawkmoth's opportunities were limited. "StickyGoopGirl"- apparently she was frustrated about suntan lotion- doesn't look out for light posts well enough. Following her up, "Mainspring"- mad over a broken trampoline- just doesn't have any type of threatening powers whatsoever, and is only mildly annoying.

However, the duo's perpetual opponent tries again, with much more success. Their problem calls himself Tactician- apparently, he is a famous YouTube star and player of strategy games.

With some very impolite fans.

And a walk-through of "Alien Resistance Command 2" that's been going very badly.

The end result was a villainous tactical genus with a small arsenal of swords, C-4, Claymore mines, guns, and a determination to take the duo's Miraclouses.

* * *

Chat Noir cleared the housetop just as he saw the flash of Ladybug's lucky charm power. She caught something out of the air-

A shotgun roared, spitting fire from behind a dumpster.

Something red splattered through the air.

Suddenly, Adrian wasn't in Paris anymore. He wasn't even the same Chat Noir.

Instead, he was standing up to his knees in the water of a warm, slow-moving river. Dimly, he saw the jungle, and the ragged wing of a P-40 fighter plane rising above the water.

There was a different shotgun roaring, and a different Ladybug- this one with hair the color of sunshine- falling as something red splattered the air.

His right hand comes up and back, his staff thinning to barely half an inch across.

This other Chat's cold fury filled him, and he launched forward, landing where Tactician had been a fraction of a second before.

The akuma lashed out, bringing his weapon down like a club.

The blow landed, but with only a tiny fraction of the maximum force- halfway down, Chat's rising stick had caught the Akuma's left hand, dealing a crippling blow that took away its leverage.

It reeled back, dropping the shotgun and going for a combat knife.

Far too slowly.

Chat's stick lashed down, badly bruising the akuma's knife-hand, forcing him to drop the weapon, and dealing a stinging blow to the villain's face with the backstroke.

The akuma charged, bare- handed, counting on his intrinsic strength and speed.

It was the worst mistake makeable.

Chat stepped sideways, pivoting to bring his stick down across the villain's kidneys.

The dumpster, with its solid steel sides, did the rest, knocking Tactician out cold.

Then, just as swiftly as it had started, the flashback was over.

Adrian wasted no time in seizing the villain's lovely white-and-blue scarf and tearing it neatly in two.

He didn't stop to see what became of the akuma, instead turning-

And the yo-yo string came within a whisker of wrapping around his head.

And the near miss didn't matter, because it was his ladybug that was reeling in the captured butterfly, and she wasn't dead, and everything was going to be wonderful.

She barely has a split second to release the now-de-evil-ised butterfly before Chat wrapped both arms firmly around her and refused to let go.

"Ow!" She declared "Watch it, kitty! I have a giant bruise!"

"How?"

She holds up what looks like a ladybug-spotted ketchup bottle that someone has turned into a colander- tiny holes are blasted through both sides, and ketchup seems to be everywhere, but it obviously caught the worst of the blast, slowing it enough that the magically tough material of her costume was able to stop it.

* * *

Aidren asks Plagg about it, later. The tiny fairy creature muttered the letters "AVG" and ate an entire wheel of Gruyère in one swallow.

It is only a week later when history begins a section on World War Two, and the American Volunteer Group is mentioned. He realizes then that Chat Noir- and Plagg- must have been fighting in the Second Sino-Japanese War, and begins to wonder if his companion's cheese obsession isn't some way of shielding himself from the memories.

* * *

Author's Note: This story also puts forward a few of my personal theories- namely, that Ladybug's costume is actually some sort of flexible armor (not the spandex that people around here seem to be suggesting constantly).

Also, I have the idea, based on the fact that Master is obviously a Chinese immigrant, and that any superhero worth their salt was involved in fighting in World War Two (including all the major ones that were created afterwards!) that Chat Noir and Ladybug were supporting the American Volunteer Group.

Also, the Chat Noir Adrien flashes back to is using a Indian technique called "The Walking Stick Method of Self Defense". It focuses on using a light, fast, long stick to target vulnerable spots (particularly your opponent's hands, as Chat demonstrates.)

For those interested, "StickyGoopGirl" and "Mainspring", are, of course, copied off Spider-man villains Trapster and Batroc. Tactician is based on the DC villian Deathstroke (and also one of my favorite Youtube-ers, EnterElysium).

As always, if you enjoyed the story, review and let me know!


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